The National Bank of Rwanda has chosen a special motif for the 5000 franc banknote for the new issue of its banknotes in September 2024: the iconic roof of the Kigali Convention Centre. This building was designed by Professor Roland Dieterle, architect and long-standing professor at HFT Stuttgart. This is a great honour, not least because it is very rare for buildings designed by architects to be printed on banknotes during their lifetime.
Roland Dieterle was a professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Design at HFT Stuttgart from 1998 to 2021. During this time, he founded and developed the international Master's degree programmesInternational Project Management and Smart City Solutions. For his visionary commitment, he was appointed Senior Professor in January 2024.
In addition to his university activities, Dieterle is the founder and managing partner of Spacial Solutions GmbH in Munich. The company played a key role in the planning and realisation of the Kigali Convention Centre. The building's striking roof is a symbol of progress and cultural identity and its image on the new banknote will become part of everyday life in Rwanda.
Sustainable, iconic and multifunctional: the Kigali Convention Centre as a symbol of innovation
The Kigali Convention Centre stands for Rwanda's economic awakening and its consistent focus on the service sector. As part of the "Vision 2020" development strategy, it was implemented as a key project to attract conferences, trade fairs and other international events to the country.
The multifunctional facility includes a conference centre, a 5-star hotel with 300 rooms and infrastructure for energy, water/wastewater and transport. Particularly impressive is the iconic dome construction of the main building, which is reminiscent of traditional Rwandan round buildings and has been given a modern interpretation. With its colour-adjustable lighting, it shapes the cityscape of Kigali and is a landmark visible from afar.
The planning was an extraordinary challenge, as there were no clear specifications. Professor Dieterle and his team developed the entire construction programme in close consultation with the clients and relied on international expertise. A total of 20 European offices, commissioned and managed by Spacial Solutions, worked on the realisation, including Stuttgart-based partners such as Jangled Nerves, which planned an integrated museum and an image film, and knippershelbig GmbH, which was responsible for the structural design.
"Do it the African Way"
Sustainability played a central role in the planning of the Kigali Convention Centre: rainwater is collected, toilet facilities use grey water and block boilers ensure energy-efficient cooling. In addition, a local stone manufactory was founded to use granite and marble from Rwanda and strengthen regional value creation.
The realisation placed high demands on everyone involved, particularly due to the logistical challenges of importing building materials and working with Chinese construction companies. The vision of "German Quality" was nevertheless realised - thanks to more than ten years of intensive work and the establishment of a local construction supervision company.
The realisation of this project impressively demonstrates that with commitment, courage and the willingness to break new ground, extraordinary things can be created. This is an important signal, because the future of urban and economic development is also being shaped to a large extent in Africa - a region whose population growth alone is equivalent to the population of the greater Stuttgart area every week."
